1. Field of the Invention
The invention herein relates to cleaning systems for water impounded in ponds and similar reservoirs.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Many golf courses and parks contain ponds, usually artificial, which are used for the storage of irrigation water and which also provide a pleasing aesthetic effect in landscape. In the case of golf courses, such ponds also frequently serve as water hazards in the course of play. However, because most such ponds do not have a normal in-flow and out-flow pattern, it is common for the pond water to become stagnant and concentrated with various impurities such as salts, requiring frequent draining, cleaning and refilling of the ponds.
In an effort to overcome this problem, it has been common for golf course or park operators to install fountains or other similar stationary spray or aeration devices in the ponds. While these may have some modest effect on stagnation, they do not normally reach outlying areas of any but &he smallest ponds nor do they reach into "pockets" or recesses along the shore line. In such recesses, the water simply eddies and stagnates. Further, the sprays and aerators have little or no effect on the concentration of salts and other impurities and contaminants.
Recently, a highly efficient irrigation system using a pond as a reservoir has been developed. This system is described and claimed in allowed U.S. patent application No. 07/782,437, now U.S. Pat. No. 5,227,067, inventor L. Runyon, assigned to Eco-Soil Systems, Inc. This system (which will be referred to in further detail below) has proved extraordinarily effective in eliminating stagnant water and in removal of contaminants from ponds at golf courses, parks and other similar settings.
However, even a superior irrigation and purification system cannot work at its maximum effectiveness if the treating materials cannot reach all parts of the pond or if the pond water does not circulate adequately to come within the system's effective range. Consequently, it would be of value to have a water circulation and purification system which would allow treatment of all water in a pond, regardless of the pond's size or shape. It would further be of value to have such a system which could cooperate synergistically with effective purification systems.